Evans OK with Jones-Sonnen fight, but admits 'it's not the same for everybody'

Chael Sonnen will fight Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title next April.

The booking was announced on Tuesday. And, of course, piling on began from the multitudes upset that Sonnen hasn’t had a fight at 205 in what will be seven and a half years when he meets Jones. And he’s coming off a loss.

But Rashad Evans, a former champ himself and former challenger of Jones, has no real issue with the fight. He just wishes it worked the same for everyone.

“For the most part, I commend the UFC for making the fights happen that the people love to see,” Evans told FUEL TV’s “UFC Toinight.” “But as a fighter, I was like, ‘Man, what’s it gonna take for me to get a chance to get back up in there?’ I wanted to fight Anderson (Silva), but it didn’t end up happening because they said I needed one more fight to be a contender at middleweight. But I guess it’s not the same for everybody.”

Evans toyed with the notion of dropping to middleweight after his UFC 145 unanimous-decision loss to Jones. But he apparently would not have been given the same kind of immediate title shot that Sonnen gets against Jones when the two are done coaching off each other on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Instead, it looks like he’ll stay at light heavyweight. And it looks like he won’t return until late winter or early spring.

“I was hoping in December, by the end of the year, but it looks like it’s not going to happen,” Evans said. “Maybe in February or March. But who am I going to fight, that’s the big question. I can’t go down in weight class after a loss to Jones unless it’s a special event, unless it’s something that really beckons for my calling, and then I’ll do it.”

And Evans still believes that could be Silva, a fight he’d take. But if that can’t happen, Evans said he’d love another shot at Lyoto Machida, the first person to beat him and the only person to finish him.

That’s a big opportunity to fight Anderson. Anderson’s one of those guys whom I consider one of my favorite fighters to watch. To have an opportunity to fight him would be a dream come true for me,” Evans said. “The guy who i really want to fight more than anything is a guy I lost to, my first loss, and it’s Machida. I would love to get a chance to fight Machida again. He looked good against (Ryan) Bader and I want to get that one back. I want to get it back bad. That’s the one I really want the most.”

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